With the current state of the economy in the UK, millions of people are being made redundant and there are statutory redundancy packages in place to help transition workers to unemployment. Some of the lucky ones do find jobs quickly whilst others go on to file for state benefits. In either case, it is good to know if you are getting what you are entitled to under statutory redundancy rulings and the quickest and easiest way to make these calculations is with a freely available online Redundancy Calculator.

Time Is of the Essence

Whether you are just being made redundant or you were made redundant within the past few years, one thing to be aware of is that the laws change over times in terms of how much money employers are required to pay. As a general rule, the amount of redundancy pay you are entitled to is based on your age, the number of full years you worked for the company and a specific number of weeks per year of service up to a maximum statutory amount.

As of 1 February 2011 the maximum amount is £400 per week whilst prior to that it was £380. But that amount changed on 30 September 2009 up from £350 weekly. Therefore, to accurately calculate what you should get or should have received is based on when you were made redundant. As well, that is a ‘maximum statutory pay’ amount so if you actually earned less than £400 per week the calculations will be based on your actual salary.

Age and Years of Service

The number of weeks you will be paid when being made redundant is based on your age and years of continuous service to the company. Keep in mind that some employers provide more generous redundancy packages than others so read your contract when being made redundant. However, for the sake of understanding a Redundancy Calculator, we will use the statutory redundancy figures. The law states:

Those under 22 years will receive 0.5 week’s pay for each year of continuous service

Those aged 22 to 41 will receive 1 full week’s pay for each year of continuous service

Anyone over 41 years of age will receive 1.5 week’s pay for each continuous year of service

You should also know that the statutory redundancy entitlement caps at twenty years of service so if you worked at a firm for 35 years your company only needs to pay up to the weekly amount for a 20 year period. But again, some employers do provide more generous redundancy packages so read your contract before moving on to the Redundancy Calculator.

Working with a Redundancy Calculator

When you finally get down to working with a Redundancy Calculator there are generally only three fields you need to be concerned with. Since these are online forms that do the calculations on the screen of your computer, they are easy to use and within a few moments you should have your redundancy entitlement calculated for you.

The required fields are age at time of redundancy, years of service with the employer and gross weekly pay. Keep in mind that weekly pay before taxes is up to the statutory maximum of £400 currently unless your redundancy package from your place of employment is more generous. If you are 40 years old and have worked at a company for 15 years with a gross weekly pay of £320, your statutory entitlement would be £4800. Since you were over 21 and under 41 you are entitled to 15 weeks of pay at your gross weekly wages.

Note: Not all workers are entitled to redundancy pay so if you have any concerns as to whether or not you are entitled, it is advisable to visit the Redundancy section on the Directgov.com website.